Thursday, 5 January 2017By Dustin Volz and Patricia Zengerle | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON Top U.S. intelligence officials will testify in Congress on Thursday on Russia's alleged cyber attacks during the 2016 election, as President-elect Donald Trump described himself as a "big fan" of intelligence agencies despite casting doubt on their findings that Moscow orchestrated the hacks.Trump is due to be briefed by intelligence agency chiefs on Friday on hacks that targeted the Democratic Party. President Barack Obama will be briefed on Thursday.Trump is heading for a conflict over the issue with Democrats and some fellow Republicans in Congress, many of whom are wary of Moscow and distrust the New York businessman's praise of Russian President Vladimir Putin and efforts to heal the rift between the United States and Russia.Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, National Security Agency Director Mike Rogers and Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence Marcel Lettre are due to appear before the Senate Armed Services Committee, which is chaired by Republican John McCain, a vocal critic of Putin.In the afternoon, State Department and Department of Homeland Security officials will brief the Senate Foreign Relations Committee behind closed doors on the Obama administration's response to the hacking and harassment of U.S.

The post Congress begins Russia hacking probe, Trump defends comments on U.S. intelligence
| Reuters appeared first on Firstpost.

The feud between Donald Trump and the US intelligence community is about to play out out behind closed doors. The President-elect will be given a briefing on allegations of election-related hacking by Russia.

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